WCW Takeover: Vince, You Son Of A...

Question: Recently, Jerry "the King" Lawler left the WWF and was replaced at ring side by someone. Who is this someone and where did you hear of him previously?

(You can find the answer at the end of the article.)

Now now, you didn't think that we would be disrespecting the Chairman of the World Wrestling Federation did you? Well, not yet. In the latest saga of the premier Sports Entertainment franchise in the world, Vince McMahon recently announced that his WWF would be purchasing its former archenemy; World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

It is customary for business personalities to let their personal egos and agendas come in between business. Look at Sun's Scott McNealy versus Microsoft's Bill Gates. But software and servers are one thing and suplexes and senton bombs are another. And let's face it, Ted Turner and Vince McMahon are not your customary business men.

in the right corner

Ted Turner is one of the most charismatic, generous, controversial, and eccentric men in the world. Apart from being owner of the Atlanta Braves, and having merged his Turner Cable empire with Time Warner's library of content to play a role in the creation of the ultimate media company, AOL-Time Warner, Turner may be most remembered for contributing $1 billion dollars to the United Nations.

in the left corner

Ted Turner bought WCW and essentially picked a fight with none other than Vince "no chance" McMahon. While many considered McMahon to be the ultimate roadkill for Turner's media empire and billions, after only a couple of years of cutthroat competition, McMahon's WWF came out on top. From an entertainment perspective, McMahon outfoxed and outperformed the media mogul. On the business front: McMahon played his cards right, while Turner's WCW got shuffled in the Time Warner maze.

Vince McMahon never cared about Turner's billions, he knew that he would come out on top. In fact, McMahon has now been comfortably perched atop the Wrestling World. While WCW was still alive, it had long trailed WWF in revenues and popularity.

hardest working s.o.b. in town

Despite Vince's on-stage persona as an egotistical mogul, you get the impression that he is amongst the hardest workers around. Is it ironic that he turned the WWF around when the WCW was kicking its derriere years ago, and he must now do the same with his XFL.

It might be interesting to note that the culture at WWF is a more humble and hard working one, whereas the XFL was essentially born with a silver spoon in its mouth, with McMahon's millions and NBC's flex.

business or personal?

Recently, McMahon shocked the world by announcing that he would be buying the WCW. While this makes some business sense from a micro and macro level perspective, there are many questions that remain.